Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

I have to be honest and admit that over the past few months, I’ve tried to keep my eyes away from the news and world politics. It’s just too depressing and frustrating most of the time. Off and on I’ve followed the conflict in Ukraine, but the issue with ISIS has mostly eluded me.

That said, today I heard that members of ISIS has beheaded an american photojournalist, James Foley. Beheading him wasn’t enough either. They also forced him to read a letter before executing him on video. I really can’t understand why a religious group finds murder acceptable, let alone torture and execution. It’s just unfathomable.

I’d like to go on but I really don’t have much to add to the subject so rather than repeat all the info I’ve been reading over, I’ll just link to some other pages so you can read it direct from the sources. Hopefully Foley’s family can rest easy knowing he was trying to do something good with his life and help other people.

Its time for us to say goodbye to 2013 and welcome in 2014. Its time to look back on our lives for the past year and see what we can do to improve ourselves or make life more enjoyable. Its time for New Year’s Resolutions.

Since I’ve moved out of my parents’ houses and into an apartment with my fiance, things have been fantastic. Life really is great and I couldn’t really ask for more. That said, I have been neglecting my firearms and letting my skills wither away. Its time for me to get back out there and do some shooting and practicing.

For 2014, I resolve to go shooting as often as I can. I’m going to start out strong by going to shoot with my neighbor this Saturday. He recently bought a 9mm 45 and has been really looking forward to shooting it. Depending on where we go I’ll probably bring my rifles along. I’ve been itching to shoot my SKS some more. If we go to the indoor range in town however I’ll have to stick with just my .22 pistols.

Either way its going to be fun. I’ll be sure to share how everything goes and let you know how badly my skills have deteriorated without practice. Happy New Year everyone!

I haven’t updated the blog in a while and I feel kinda bad about that. I’ve been enjoying life, relaxing and being lazy. Its nice to come home after a long day at work to just sit down with my fiance and watch some TV or play some games. But I feel like today I need to make a post because something pretty important happened that not many people are talking about.

China is now one of only three countries to have done this and the first in almost 40 years. To say its a big deal is kind of an understatement. The moon is over 238,000 miles from the Earth and constantly moving, as is the Earth. The science involved in making something like this happen is nothing to scoff at. The trip alone took 13 days! That’s a long time to sit there hoping that all your calculations are correct.

Sure, we’ve landed rovers on Mars already, but China is just starting into the world of space exploration. They’re putting a lot of effort into their space program while here in the United States we’re decreasing the funding for ours.

China has big ambitions for space. Ignoring the fact that the vehicle used to land their rover on the moon can carry a payload far heavier than what it carried this time (humans and more equipment maybe?), they also plan to have their own space station. China is not a partner with the International Space Station, so it makes sense for them to explore other options. Its also possible that when they finish their station, it may be the only space station in service, as the ISS is only supposed to last until about 2020, though it could be extended if those involved decided to keep funding it.

China is not the 3rd world country that it once was. They continue to show that they want to be a major contender in world affairs, and we should probably start paying attention. We may not agree with the Chinese on every aspect of life and government, but surely we could benefit more from a partnership with them as opposed to a 21st century cold war.

But if we can’t get along with them, I suggest our lawmakers start putting in place the plans necessary to keep us dominant on both the surface of the Earth as well as space and beyond, because China seems ready to compete . . .

There’s a lot of confusion, on right and left alike, regarding the president’s war powers under the Constitution. Here’s an overview of the most common claims on behalf of such powers, along with replies to these claims.

“The president has the power to initiate hostilities without consulting Congress.”

Ever since the Korean War, Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution – which refers to the president as the “Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States” – has been interpreted this way.

But what the framers actually meant by that clause was that once war has been declared, it was the President’s responsibility as commander-in-chief to direct the war. Alexander Hamilton spoke in such terms when he said that the president, although lacking the power to declare war, would have “the direction of war when authorized or begun.”…

I just wanted to take a minute or two and express my opinions on the crisis we’re facing right now. Do we strike Syria for using chemical weapons against their own people? Or do we sit back and let whatever happens happen?

Because we are often seen as leaders of the free world, it is partly our responsibility to stand up for injustice around the globe. If we fail to act when something like this occurs, our enemies will take that as weakness and our supporters may very well lose faith.

That said, can we really justify repeating what happened with Iraq and Afghanistan? I know Obama has been quoted saying a strike on Syria would be nothing like those two conflicts, but how can anyone know that? Once the dust settles after whatever “strike” we use, how do we know what their reaction will be? How do we know this wont become like those? We can’t predict how the Syrian government will respond to an attack on their soil. Nor can we predict how the rebels will respond.

I am not advocating that we sit back and do nothing. However, I’m not calling for a strike either. I, just like most of the american public, don’t have all the information that our leaders in Washington have. I am trusting that they will make the right decision, as silly as that sounds. We elected them and they’re going to do what they think is best (based on whatever morals or motivation they have) even if we aren’t behind them 100%.

I’ve emailed my representatives and voiced my concerns about military intervention in Syria; that’s all I can do. I want to see our military take action but only enough action to ensure that chemical weapons will not be used on innocent people again in the future. I do not want our military getting actively involved in the Syrian civil war any more than they already have. This is their fight and while we may have a vested interest in the outcome, so do other leading nations around the world.

In the next few weeks I’m sure more details about the planned action will come out. Maybe then we will have more definitive evidence of what has happened and where our allies stand. I just hope that everyone involved takes great care in their decision making.

I am all for protecting the lives of innocent people around the world, but its time we stop trying to decide who should be in charge of every country around the world. Sure, I would love to see a world where every nation out there supports us and our actions, but that’s not a reality that will ever exist. The more we meddle in middle eastern affairs, the more we put ourselves in harms way.

Remember, the politicians make the choices but its our soldiers who have to carry out the plans. Everyone wants to tell their NFL team coaches what they think they should do, but how many of those armchair quarterbacks have been there? How many have experienced what its like to play out the decisions that others have made for you, especially when its your life that they’re gambling with?

That’s how I feel. Let me know what you think in the comments below. Let me know if you agree, or call me a freedom hating commie if you want, it really doesn’t matter to me. This is how I feel and I just felt I needed to get my opinion out there, as I feel every citizen should do. Congress is supposed to represent the people and if they don’t hear our voices, how can they represent us? (This is in no way saying they do accurately represent what the people want – that’s an entirely different discussion that doesn’t belong here)

I received a letter in the mail a few weeks back letting me know that my local shooting range, to which I was a member, was closing its doors. They were kind enough to reimburse me for the remaining time left on my membership but nevertheless it was pretty sad to hear.

I hadn’t been going as much lately with all the changes in my life, so maybe their closing was partly my fault. Maybe it was the ammo craze that drove gun owners everywhere to hoard ammo instead of using it. Maybe it was the economy. I don’t know.

What I do know is that I will now have to travel at least 45 minutes any time I want to shoot at an actual range. My dad’s house is only 15 minutes away and I can shoot there whenever I want, but sometimes an actual range is just much better.

If you’re lucky enough to have a range in your area, get out there and show them your support. Let them know you want them to stay around and that you find what they have to offer very enriching. And spread the good word to other gun owners so that business can improve. If the ranges all close and we have nowhere to shoot out guns, how will we maintain our shooting skills? For some of us, living in isolated rural areas just isn’t an option.

I just wanted to make a quick post to update everyone on what’s going on in my world. Its been a while since I took my break.

Moving in with my fiance has changed my life so much (for the better). Life is less stressful and we have a lot of fun together. Paying the bills sucks but that’s a pretty fair price to pay for the freedm that comes with moving out of the parents’ house.

I’ve still been maintaining my shooting skills, although less frequently now since I can’t jutify wasting all my ammo. So much work hunting more down. Plus, work keepsme pretty busy most weeks.

I might be back sometime in the future but for the moment my blogging vacation will continue. Thanks to those of you who have remained a subscriber. Hopefully one day ill have new content for you.